EAST BRIGEWATER – After a year of discussions and a little pre-planning by the Public Library trustees, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) recently awarded the library a grant to come up with a plan and design to help expand the present facility or to build a new one.

The $50,000 grant came with a requirement that the town match half of it, $25,000, which library director Manny Leite said was approved at the June 2013 town meeting.

Leite said some of the main goals discussed for expansion include getting the children’s department out of the basement where currently space is limited and there are large poles in the middle of the room that support the floor above.

“It’s already a tight space when it comes to shelving books,” Leite said.

“Sometimes the librarian has to (remove) older books to make room for new ones. We definitely need a new room for book space.”

He said the community meeting room, also in the basement, needs an upgrade as well. There is no overhead projector and two columns in the center of the room obstruct views for any program held there.

“We’d like to expand our meeting room to something modern and current,” Leite said. “Other public libraries have double the size of the room and ample amounts of chairs. It’s at maximum capacity when there are children’s programs.”

This grant round from the MBLC is awarded every five years and Eric Averill, chairman of the library trustees as well as chairman of the Library Building Committee, said it will be used to perform a needs assessment and hire someone to come up with a plan and cost estimate of how to address those needs.

“This study is the first step in determining the best way of providing the citizens of East Bridgewater with the library resources and services they deserve,” Averill said in a press release.

He said a specific requirement of the grant is to look for locations in town for a new library as well as renovating the existing structure.

“I know the citizens and everybody that goes to this library wants to keep the old one,” Averill said. “I hope we can find the space to do the addition.”

“We wouldn’t touch any part of the architecture or the original building that’s here,” Leite said.

While any type of construction is years down the road, Averill said if the MBLC awards a construction grant, it would only cover 50 percent of the cost.

“The real challenge is to get the town to agree to match the money for the library. The good news is we don’t have to ask for the money until 2018 or 2019,” Averill said.

Page 2 of 2 - The library was originally built in 1896 with the last addition built in 1978.